After the Daze
by TrulyBeTold
Summary: Takes place after the movie ends. Relationship, heart break, friendships. *I suck at summaries, give it a read anyways!*  T rating for language, just in case!
1. Breaking Up

_Note: Readers, welcome to my first fan fic EVER! Saw this movie, loved it and thought that the world (mainly me) needed to know what would have happened after the movie ended. Please let me know if there are any grammar, spelling or other errors. This scene takes place the morning after the party ended. If I get at least THREE reviews, I'll upload the next chapter. Thanks!_

_DISCLAIMER: Obviously I don't own the movie nor any characters!_

"Julia, I just don't understand". Pete was slumped over on his front porch. His head was pounding from the party the night before and could barely concentrate on what Julia was saying.

"Of course you don't, Pete! Jesus, there's nothing to even get! I told you, we're over! O-V-E-R! I can't keep doing this Pete. I'm sorry and you know I care about you, but things just aren't the same between us and they haven't been for a long time. It's time to just end it and move on, Pete". Julia stood with her feet firmly planted in front of Pete, a stern look upon her face. Julia glared down at Pete. His hair was messed up and he had dark circles under his eyes. For the first time in a long time, Julia actually felt sorry for him. She leaned against the porch fence. "Pete?"

Pete rubbed his eyes as his met with Julia's. "Look, I'll do whatever you want me to. We can fix this. I get it, I'm a loser and an asshole. I'm in love with you Julia. I still care about you even though you hooked up with Dylan last night." Julia gasped a little louder than was intended. Pete's eyes remain sad and teary.

"I'm sorry about that. I don't even like Dylan but that doesn't change the fact that we're not meant to be". Julia quickly wiped a tear from her eyes before it could fall to her cheeks.

"I just want to be with you," Pete whispered, rubbing his head in frustration. Julia sighed loudly. "Pete, I can't be with you. You didn't graduate, you're not going to college, you can't even get out of bed in the morning. I can't take care of you anymore. It's over, Pete".

Before tears could stream down her face, Julia was running towards her Jeep. She jammed the keys into the ignition and glanced once more at Pete. He sat in the same spot with his head in his hands and body shaking from crying. Julia never wanted to hurt Pete, and she did care about him but she wasn't in love with him anymore. She admitted that hooking up with her best friend's boyfriend wasn't the right way of figuring this out, but she did it and it was in the past. Besides, hooking up with Dylan got Julia to break up with Pete and Stacey to end things with Dylan. Julia tried looking on the silver linings side of things, but Pete's sad eyes just kept flashing at her.

It had only been a few hours since the party had ended but it was daylight out. On her way home, Julia was going to swing by Dawn's to make sure she made it home all right. As her Jeep slowly creeped down the street, Julia saw Brianne dropping Dawn off. Julia parked across the street and fixed her makeup. Before she could get out, she saw Dawn slam Brianne's car door shut and cover her face with one hand. Brianne backed out of the long driveway and sped down the road. Julia's shoulders dropped, thinking it was probably a bad time to bug Dawn if they just got into a fight. She decided to head home instead, her mind racing between Pete and how she was going to sneak back into her house.

Julia pulled up to her house, making sure to park as quietly as possible. Peeking through the kitchen windows, both her parents were up. Shit. There was no way Julia could sneak in though the first story. She peered up and saw the wooden lattice that was covered in morning glories. She secured her bag around her and started climbing. When she reached the top, she climbed onto the roof and tapped on Angie's window.

"Ang! Angie! Let me in! Hurry!" Julia loudly whispered. A disgruntled Angie rose from her bed with blood shot eyes and opened the window.

"Holy fuck, do you know what time it is? Jesus!" Angie lectured. Julia rolled her eyes and snuck from her sister's room into her own without making a sound.

Once in her room, Julia changed and threw her hair up into a ponytail. She turned the mirror. She looked horrible. Her makeup was everywhere, her hair was tangled and her eyes red from crying. She changed into her favorite pair of gray sweatpants, switching into a tank top as well. She sighed sadly again and crawled into bed.

"Ow!" cried someone. Julia was startled and whipped the blankets off her bed.

"Stacey?" Julia questioned as her friend lay half asleep in her bed. Stacey just nodded her head and turned the other way. Julia noticed the brunette had helped herself to a long black t-shirt of Julia's and made herself at home. Julia was so exhausted at this point she didn't care who was in her bed or what they were wearing. She laid down, pulling the covers over her head as she fell asleep thinking of poor Pete.


	2. Revelations

_AN: Well, here's the next chapter for my story. As far as structure of the story goes, I'm going to try to dedicate one chapter at a time to a smaller set of characters (just focusing on one or two at a time) at first and I'll see how it goes from there. As always, R&R please! Thanks for reading! Hope you all like it :)_

_Revelations_

Stacey rubbed her sleepy eyes as the bright sun shined through Julia's open window. She turned to her blonde friend who was still fast asleep. Stacey stretched and smiled. For once she had stood up for herself and finally broken up with that loser, Dylan. She couldn't be happier.

She got up softly, making sure to be quiet. She walked into the bathroom to the mirror, fixing her smeared makeup and messy hair by throwing it into a high bun. Before leaving the bathroom, she stopped herself. Peering closer, she couldn't help but grin again. Most mornings, Stacey would spend hours in front of the mirror, covering any blemishes with makeup, making sure every hair was in place or double checking that her outfit didn't make her taut stomach look chubby. But this particular morning was different. Despite just waking up, she realized she looked fine. No, not fine. But great. No blemishes on her forehead and even her messy hair looked naturally shiny. Turning around, she checked out her own backside and lifted up the black shirt she borrowed to admire her toned legs. She dropped the hem of the shirt, letting it fall back into place above her knees. Returning from the bathroom, she saw Julia sitting in bed fiddling with her nails.

"Morning party animal," Stacey slid back into bed next to Julia, closing her eyes. "So guess what?"

"What?" Julia murmured. The blonde's hair and makeup was also a bit wild but her eyes seemed like they didn't get enough sleep.

"I broke up with Dylan last night!" Stacey said excitedly opening her eyes wide. Julia looked unresponsive but replied "Good, he's a complete asshole". Julia, for the first time, felt the guilt pang in her stomach as she remembered that not only did she cheat on Pete, but Dylan _was_ Stacey's boyfriend. And Stacey _was_ her best friend.

"Thought you'd be proud," Stacey replied. Julia was silent for a few moments, picking at her nails. Stacey knew Julia wasn't exactly a morning person, but something didn't seem right. After a moment, Julia sighed and laid her head on Stacey's stomach. "I broke up with Pete this morning".

"Seriously?" Stacey was genuinely shocked. They had been together so long, that she never thought her friend would gather the courage to dump him. Then again, she never thought she would find the courage to dump Dylan either.

"Yeah. It was harder than I thought". Julia's eyes started watering but she turned her face the other way so her friend couldn't see her weakness. Julia hated crying, especially over something so cliché like a breakup.

"I didn't think you were going to actually end things… I mean that's crazy. I thought you guys were going to work things out". Stacey twirled the blonde's hair around her fingers and tried remaining poise but was surprised by the news. And despite having always supported Julia and Pete's relationship, Stacey knew both girls could do better.

"It wasn't going to work, Stace. I couldn't take care of him anymore". Julia sniffed and wiped her eyes. She hated crying! Especially in front of people. Stacey reached behind her, pulling a Kleenex from the box on Julia's nightstand, giving it to her friend.

"It's going to be fine, Julia. I promise. You know, I thought I was going to be sad about Dylan but I'm actually happy. And I think you're going to realize that this is the best for both of you. You know?" Julia nodded her head but then broke out into a full on sob fest as Stacey pulled her into a tight embrace, comforting her long-time friend.


	3. Twinkies & Anger

_Readers: Thank you for the reviews and encouragement to continue this story. Both segments are rather short so I put two in one chapter. Hope you like them, and as always, please review so I know my story is actually getting read! Thanks! Enjoy! _

_Twinkies_

"Dude, what have I told you before? Fuck Julia! She's been screwing with your head for way to long man, you should have dumped her a long time ago!" Hanky lectured Pete while filling up a Big Gulp. Pete was skimming the Circle K aisles for Twinkies.

"Too soon. I just want a Twinkie and get really, really high." Pete found his favorite pastry and grabbed three packages. Julia hated Twinkies.

"Okay, my bad bro. But I won't let you ruin your summer because some girl thinks she's too hot for you."

"That's not even why we broke up, Hanky."

"Then why did you break up?" Pete stood silent at Hanky's question. Even though Julia explained it over a thousand times rubbing it in his face, Pete still wasn't sure why she did this.

"I don't know, dude. But I do know she hooked up with Dylan last night. Cheated on me." Pete looked down embarrassed that he got screwed over by his now ex-girlfriend.

"What? You've got to be fucking kidding me! What a bitch. Okay, here's what we're going to do, man. We are going to find you a hot college bitch to hook up with then rub it in Julia's face." They were walking up to the cashier and Hanky picked up the tab.

"Like I told you, who here is going to college?" Hanky shrugged the question off and Pete followed him out the door stuffing half of a Twinkie in his mouth.

_Anger_

Dawn stepped out of the shower and wrapped a purple towel around her body. She wiped the steam off the mirror and glared at her reflection. Her eyes were red from crying and her skin looked abnormally pale. Then, Dawn noticed a small purple mark just above her collar bone. It was a hicky…from Brianne. It was faded, from a few days ago, but if Dawn had pointed it out anyone would have noticed. She trailed her finger over the small mark and her eyes weld up again. Never again would she get a hicky from Brianne (even though she thought they were trashy) or kiss Brianne or even hold her.

From the beginning of their relationship, they promised each other they would always remain best friends no matter what happened but after their fight this morning, it seemed highly unlikely. Brianne told Dawn that she couldn't keep this secret anymore, afraid that everyone would find out. Dawn had always tried convincing Brianne that they should just tell everyone and screw it. Brianne's parents were hardcore Catholics and therefore hardcore haters of same sex relationships. Even when Dawn told Brianne she was in love with her, Brianne just seemed over the entire affair.

Eyeing the hicky again, Dawn grabbed her hairbrush and smashed it into her bathroom mirror. The silver glass shattered into dozens of piece all over her sink and bathroom floor. Dawn stomped into her room, stopping in front of her huge corkboard. Pictures of Dawn and her friends were all over the board along with several pictures of just Dawn and Brianne. Crying out in frustration, she ripped all the Brianne pictures from the board and tossed them into the wastebasket. She snatched the clay earring box Brianne had made her off her dresser and threw it against the wall watching all her favorite earrings scatter. Sobbing, she took the sweatshirt she borrowed from Brianne from her closet. Cutting a small tear in it, she ripped it almost in half throwing it into her shower and slamming the door so she wouldn't have to look at it. She strung the rest of her clean laundry that was piled neatly upon her bed about her room. She flung her pillows, toiletries and anything she could get her hands on all over her room. When she was done, Dawn stood naked in the middle of her room out of breathe and finally out of tears.


	4. High Risks

_Another chapter for today, it's a bit longer so hopefully you all will enjoy it :) _

_ High Risks _

"This is exactly what I needed." Brianne inhaled sharply handing the joint to Mod.

"Weed is exactly what everyone needs," Mod laughed out loud, smoke drifting from his mouth.

"I can't believe your brother let you take the van," Brianne stated blowing smoke into the already cloudy air above them.

Mod burst into giggles. "Well, he didn't really let me, but he's passed out so I just took it. Besides, on the phone you sounded like you really needed some weed". Brianne forced a laugh. She called Mod right after she left Dawn's house. She did need the weed, she needed it so she wouldn't start crying like a baby over Dawn.

"Yeah, well Dawn and I sort of just got into an argument. Whatever, she's just being a bitch," Brianne sipped on a Coke resisting the urge to breakdown and tell Mod everything. It was so hard to go through a break up that you couldn't tell anyone about. She didn't know what to do, so she decided to get wasted.

"Did you guys break up or something?" Mod choked on smoke passing the joint to Brianne.

"What? Wh-what are you talking about?" Brianne's heart came into her throat and she had to make sure she heard Mod right.

"I know you guys were trying to be secretive about it, but you guys were dating. I've seen you two together, and honestly don't know how no one else hadn't figured it out before me. Plus, I heard you guys arguing last night behind the bushes". Brianne just sat there with her jaw wide open in shock. She knew people were suspicious. "Don't worry, I haven't told anyone, and I won't. Promise." Mod gestured to the joint again. Brianne took a long drag.

"Look Mod, the truth is–" Someone was banging on the van's door. "We'll talk later, all right?" Brianne nodded her head as Mod opened the door. Pete and Hanky climbed through with Big Gulps and Twinkies in their hands.

"What up guys!" Mod shouted passing the joint to Hanky. Pete gave a small smile and sat next to Brianne offering some of his Twinkie. After another joint was rolled and lit, they were all pretty high. Especially Brianne. She couldn't get Dawn off her mind and considered going to her house. The main reason Brianne never came out about their relationship is because she thought everyone would treat them different, and her parents would freak out completely. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad…

"Can you believe that party last night? What a bomb way to end the year!" Mod sipped on a Big Gulp.

"Hell yes! That's how the entire summer is going to be, guys. Partying, getting wasted and getting high!" Hanky sang out sending them all into giggles except Pete who had been unusually quiet.

"What's up with Pete?" Mod questioned Hanky.

"He's all bummed because Julia dumped him this morning." Pete punched Hanky in the arm with a sad look on his face. "Hanky, you don't have to tell everyone! Jesus! Let me hit that," Pete motioned to Brianne who passed him the fresh joint.

"Seriously dude?" Mod exclaimed looking just as shocked as Brianne did.

"Yeah, what happened man?" Brianne asked.

"She cheated on me," Pete inhaled the smoke then choked out, "with Dylan".

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Brianne knew that Julia was considering cheating on Pete with Dylan but didn't think she would actually go through with it. Then, remembered that Dawn was the one who had suggested it in the first place. _Bitch_.

Hanky shook his head no and so did Pete. Brianne couldn't believe this. "Does Stacey know?"

Pete shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe you should tell her," Brianne offered. Even though they were all best friends, it wasn't right for Julia to hook up with Stacey's boyfriend just to see if she was over Pete. Stacey deserved the right to know.

"Drama," Mod said taking the joint from Hanky. All the guys exchanged a knowing look.

"What?" Brianne and her friends never had drama. Not between them anyways.

"Bri, if Pete tells Stacey then she's going to freak out on Julia . Drama, think about it," Mod told her.

"Julia fucked Pete over, with Dylan, might I remind you. Think about that," Brianne took a last drag and opened the van door. "I'll see you guys later, I need some sleep." The guys sat in the van, circulating the joint and the Big Gulps.

"That's not such a bad idea," Hanky finally broke the silence. "Look, dude. You can try to sugar coat the situation all you want, but Pete, Julia cheated on you with that douche. Not only that but you've tried everything to make her happy and she's made you miserable for over a year now. Mod can vouch for that," Hanky looked to Mod for reassurance.

"I'm not getting involved!" Mod replied quickly.

"Whatever, the point is, you should tell Stacey. The least Julia should have to suffer is a little best friend drama," Hanky concluded. Pete sat silently contemplating Hanky's argument. Hanky pulled his cell out of his sweatshirt pocket and handed it to Pete. Without thinking about it anymore, Pete dialed Stacey's number.

"_Hi, you've reached Stacey! I can't answer my phone right now, so leave a message at the beep!"_

"Hi Stacey, it's uh Pete…"


	5. Plans

_AN: Readers, sorry for the long wait to post another chapter. I got re-motivated to continue thanks to a reviewer. Keep 'em coming please! Also, if anyone wants to see a specific character more often, let me know! I'm open to ideas! I'll be posting another chapter shortly! -Truly_

_Plans_

"I'll see you later, okay?" Stacey said as she dropped Julia off in from of Dawn's house. Julia nodded her head and thanked Stacey for the ride. She called Dawn after her and Stacey ate breakfast, making sure she was all right after seeing her and Brianne get into it this morning over who knows what. Dawn assured her that she was fine but Julia insisted on coming over anyways. That, and Angie decided to be a bitch this morning and Julia wasn't going to spend all day watching her parents fight with her little sister.

"Dawn! I'm home! Dawn?" Julia shouted walking into the front living room.

"In here!" Dawn yelled back from the den. Julia walked through the quiet home and saw Dawn curled up on the couch watching The Goonies. "Hey, Jules".

"Hi, Dawn". Julia walked behind the couch and gave Dawn a friendly kiss on the head. She made herself comfortable at the other end of the couch, Dawn offering her friend to share her blanket. They both sat there in comfortable silence watching one of their favorite movies.

When the movie ended, Julia broke the silence. "So what's up?"

Dawn smiled, "Well, when I woke up my parents were packing. Turns out, my dad's business trip had to start early and my mom decided to go with him because he's flying to Florida. So, no parents for five days!"

A smirk grew across Julia's face. "We're going to get so wasted!" Both the girls laughed and talked about where they would get a keg, when they should go to the store for liquor and who they should invite for the big party.

"Definitely need Tori and Sylvia to come! Those two are hilarious when they're wasted. And the band guys even though they're kind of obnoxious. Stacey, Eddie and Zack, Mod will bring weed, Brianne, but no Pete. Hanky can come, but I can't see Pete or Dylan," Julia stated with a hurt look on her face.

"Maybe Brianne shouldn't come either," Dawn said before she could stop herself. Almost like clockwork, when she thought about Brianne a lump in her throat formed.

"Dawn, why are you guys fighting? I drove by your house this morning to see if you were there after I broke up with Pete and saw you guys arguing". Julia saw Dawn's face change from uncomfortable to downright depressed.

"It's nothing, really. She's just being stupid. Whatever, I'm sure she'll end up coming anyways, especially if Mod's here."

"Is that what this is about? Mod? Do you like him or something?"

"Mod?! Oh, God no! She's the one who's trying to get with him or whatever. Look, screw Brianne. We're having this party and its going to be even better than last night's!" Dawn forced a smile on her face.

"You're right! Screw Pete too. I broke up with him and I refuse to let myself get carried back into that situation." Julia declared, holding back a tear in her eye. Part of her was so angry but the other part missed him already.

"Wait, you guys really broke up? I thought it was just a fight?" Dawn asked the blonde.

"I know, Stacey said the same thing. But, I can't do it anymore. Next year we're going to be seniors, and I can't have Pete drowning me anymore. I know I screw up. I do, but Pete screws up and doesn't learn anything or try to fix it. He could have graduated, even with shitty grades, if he had just shown up to class!" Julia exclaimed out in one breath.

"What an idiot! Whatever, screw him. He's just as bad as Dylan," Dawn added.

"I know." Julia paused, rubbing her forehead. "I can't waste my summer thinking about Pete."

"Well, then we better start making some phone calls!" Dawn sang handing Julia the phone. Julia put on a big smile and started dialing numbers.


	6. Gypsies

_AN: Hey readers, another chapter! Two in one day! I'm on a roll! Maybe... Anyways, thanks everyone who is reading this story. I think I'll be updating a lot within the next couple weeks and hopefully finishing it. Hope I've kept it interesting :) -Truly_

_Gypsies _

"I got fired from my babysitting job." Tori slumped into Sylvia's couch with a bag of chips.

"How'd you manage that one?"

"Maybe if my best friend wasn't _drinking_ on the job!"

"Hey! You ate those shrooms too!" Tori glared and Sylvia but then burst into giggles. That was such a crazy night she couldn't hold it against her friend.

"Yeah but I didn't tell them I wanted to murder their children!"

"I was high!" Tori laughed out.

"Well, you're lucky it was a fun night. Who knows how many of those I have left until I'm off to Brown," Tori said with a sigh. Sylvia reached for the chips.

"Stop it. We're going to have the most awesome summer, ever! Just forget about Brown, and college, and whatever else. We're going to have fun. Besides, NYU is not that far from Brown so we can visit each other," Sylvia offered with a small smile. "I'm going there whether my mother likes it or not.

"Fine, I'll stop talking about Brown but seriously, I need another job."

"Hey! I know! That new ice cream shop is hiring! We should totally get summer jobs there. All the free ice cream we could want!"

"Oh Syl! You are a genius! Promise we'll go this weekend!" The girls pinky swore indicating this was a serious situation. Sylvia's phone rang and Tori answered.

"Tori and Sylvia's ice cream shop, who may I ask is calling?"

"Uhm, it's Julia?" A voice on the other end clearly wasn't getting the joke.

"Hi Julia!" Both the ladies shouted into the phone chuckling to themselves.

"Are you guys high?" the voice said back.

"No! Not yet!" Sylvia had the phone now. "why, do you have any shrooms?" Tori snatched the phone back, "One night of shrooms this week is enough, S! Sorry 'bout that, what's up?"

"Nothing, I'm at Dawn's and we just found out her parents are going on vacation for five days! We're throwing a party; want you guys to come is all."

"Well you know, it's not a real party without us!" Tori yipped into the mouth piece. "Do we need to bring anything?"

Julia paused. "Bring whatever, booze, bud, babes. Doesn't matter, but spread the word. Okay?"

"Perfect. When?"

"Thursday night. Call us before you come over, and you two are welcome to crash at Dawn's. Sound good?"

"Sounds amazing. See you then!" Tori hung up and turned to her best friend with a huge smile.

"What is it?" Sylvia begged. Tori just smirked in response. "Tell me!"

"Dawn's parents are out of town. Huge party Thursday. We're going!"

"Yesss. We're going to get trashed! See? This is how this whole summer is going to be. No school, just parties, cute guys and smoking."

"Good! So who should we call?" Sylvia only gave Tori a confused expression in response. "Julia said to spread the word, so who should we call."

"Got it! Call Mod. That kid always has the best weed. And, ask for shrooms!"

"I thought we weren't going to do them again? Too soon…" Tori reasoned.

"Maybe we should just get some for like a just-in-case type of thing."

After a moment, Tori finally agreed and they both called Mod who informed them he would definitely be bringing some mushrooms. After making a few more calls, the girls went to the kitchen to make some popcorn.

"Syl, what if we just, like, didn't go to college? Couldn't we just save money all summer, and bum around Europe like gypsies?"

Sylvia gave her friend a questioning look and walked over feeling her forehead. "Are you sick? You're not sounding like you right now! You're talkin' crazy!" She laughed out.

Tori shoved her hand away, "No! I'm being serious. I don't want to go to Brown. I don't want to go to college, or community college. I just want to live, Sylvia. My parents went to Brown. They married right out of college, went right to work, had kids. I don't want that. I want see the world without being tied down to a husband and screaming children."

"But you love kids."

"Why can't I go to China and help kids over there? Or taste spicy food in India? Or find love in Italy? See castles in Romania? The Eiffel Tower in France?" Out of breath, Tori collapsed onto the neutral-colored stool in the corner of Sylvia's kitchen. Sylvia always thought Tori was a bit neurotic which kept her focused on getting straight A's in school to get a full ride to Brown.

"But you've worked so hard, dude! You were valedictorian!"

"I know that. I don't know if I can commit to Brown, commit to the lifestyle that I know is ahead of me if I do. I mean, Jesus! Next year will be the millennium! We can do anything! Go anywhere!" Tori paused her ideas seemingly catching up with her brain. "Maybe I am crazy, but I'd rather be crazy than be boring. I've spent too long being boring, skipping out on parties, vacations and relationships to get to Brown."

Sylvia got the popcorn from the microwave and put it between them tossing one in the air and catching it in her mouth. "Well, you're my best friend. I can't let you gypsy around by yourself. I'm down."

"_What?"_

"I mean it! You know I hate school anyways. If you're not going to Brown, I'm not going to NYU. We can be crazy together, Tori!" Sylvia shouted throwing a handful of buttery popcorn at her friend. Tori screamed in fright and soon enough the popcorn ended up on the floor and in their hair instead of the bowl.

.


	7. Voicemail

**A/N: Alrighty, Readers. Man, it's been awhile. My poor but semi-acceptable excuse is I've had other writing projects, non-fic related, that have taken up my few minutes of spare time. Anyways, I do want this story to finish and I refuse to leave it unfinished. Your reviews give me motivation to keep it going! **

Stacey walked up the front porch steps to her house. She had just spent the last couple of hours at the mall shopping for the perfect outfit for Dawn's party. She wanted tonight to be different. She couldn't remember the last party she went to where she enjoyed herself. Stacey's party nights usually consisted of following Dylan around making sure he wasn't cheating on her or trying to sneak peeks at his pager but that tended to just piss him off. For the first times in months, Stacey could go to a party, hang out with her friends and get buzzed on cheap beer. Man, she loved beer.

Stacey successfully dodged her mother, coming home while she was at bingo. She kicked open her door and plopped her shopping bags on her bed. "Talk about retail therapy," she murmured to herself.

Stacey began pulling out different tops and skirts, couple dresses and some new jewelry trying to decide what to wear. When she couldn't decide, she called her friends. After both Julia and Dawn didn't answer, Stacey reluctantly dialed Brianne's number. Usually, Brianne's the last person she'd ask for fashion advice considering the girl always wore jeans and sneakers, but Stacey hadn't really heard from anyone in a day or so.

"Hey, Brianne! It's Stace, whatcha up to?"

"No, I don't have any weed right now," Brianne answered automatically.

"Uh, rude. I wasn't going to ask about that. But, I just went to the mall and I wanna know what you're wearing to Dawn's? I just got this super cute skirt, but I don't want to get too dressy and—"

"Wait, what's at Dawn's?" Brianne interrupted almost choking on whatever she was drinking.

"Uh, a party? Her parents are out of town? They're getting a keg? Ringing any bells?" Stacey scoffed, hanging her clothes in her walk-in.

"No, I don't remember anyone telling me about a party. What the hell, man!"

"Dawn didn't call you? Her and Julia told me, like, days ago. Where have you been?"

"High. Damn. I guess I've been hanging out with Mod a lot. Haven't really been home. But still, dude! Who else is going?" Brianne was trying to keep it cool but was fully irritated. Sure, her and Dawn sorta, kinda, ended their fling, but weren't they still going to be friends? What kind of friend doesn't tell her best friend about a party they're throwing?

"Keep smoking that weed, Brianne," Stacey laughed. "Everyone's going; it's going to be better than the party after the graduation. But seriously, if Dylan dares to show his face, I'm going to throw a drink in it."

"Wait a sec; have you checked your voicemail, lately?" Brianne asked, remembering about the voicemail that Pete left her detailing who exactly Dylan hooked up with.

"Not really. Dylan keeps harassing me because I'm holding his sneakers hostage until he pays me back the money he borrowed to buy them. But, why do you ask?"

"Might wanna give them a listen before you decide to go to that party," Brianne offered. She knew she was stirring up drama, but on the same hand, after spending the last couple days with Pete, Mod and Hanky, they all had plenty of time to talk about Julia and Pete's relationship. And mostly how much of a bitch Julia was.

Stacey paused, wondering what Brianne could be talking about. "Who's been leav—"

"Gotta go, Stace!"Brianne hung up without giving up an answer.

Curious but slightly nervous for whatever the voicemail said, she went to her bedside table where she had nine voicemails on the blinking light. Stacey pressed the _listen _button.

The machine blurted in a monotone robot voice, "_You have nine new messages. New message…_ 'Yo, girl. You best be givin' me my damn shoes! Those shoes are worth more than everythin' in your stupid closet. So help me God, Stacey, I'll break into your house! I don't care if your mom's home, Stace. I really don't, I wi—'…_Message deleted_". Five Dylan messages later, she finally got to one from a friendly voice: Riley. He sounded a little shaky but sweetly asked if Stacey was going to Dawn's tonight and Stacey couldn't wait to see him there. She wasn't planning on dating anyone anytime soon, but it was nice to have someone get her a beer and make her feel good. The next message was from Pete.

"Hey, Stacey. It's, uh, Pete. Listen, if I don't tell you this now, you'll never find out. But the reason me and Julia broke up was the same reason you dumped Dylan. They hooked up after the grad party. In the woods. I just…Julia really hurt me and you're her best friend, but you don't deserve to be hurt either considering you dated Dylan for so long. Anyways, if you wanna talk about it more, just give me a call…Stacey, I'm sorry".

Stacey froze. The last two messages, from Dylan, were a silent blur. When people screwed Stacey over, she felt sadness. Like somehow it was her fault. But now, all she felt was rage. Her best friend screwed her boyfriend! That breaks so many girl rules, Stacey was in shock. She practically expected Dylan to be a gross, cheating loser (although she denied that until recently), but _Julia! No, no. This has to be a lie. Pete is lying because he is pissed at Julia and obviously trying to cause problems in Julia's life because he's, well, pissed. Right? _ Stacey tried to sort out the situation in her head, and every time she told herself Julia wouldn't do that to her, a tiny part of her brain told her, _yes, she would. _Stacey needed the whole story. She forgot all about her new clothes, grabbed her keys and headed over to Pete's.

**It's getting SCANDALOUS! As always, PLEASE review. Anyone have any ideas on where they think this is headed? I know I do ;)**


	8. Uncle Jesse

**Readers, I sincerely apologize that I haven't kept up on this like I planned. As you all know, life manages to get in the way. But, fear not, I do have a direction for the story. It's matter of getting it all out there. Hope this is a good little teaser :)**

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><p>"Okay, so the keg's gonna get here at, like seven-ish, and then I've been telling everyone to come over anytime after nine. That cool?" Julia questioned allowed pouring chips into bowls.<p>

"Yeah, of course. I honestly need a night of just being super wasted," Dawn laughed out. The twosome had already been drinking a little, and were one and a half bottles of wine deep. It had been a semi-regular ritual the past three days. They called it their 'before five o'clock cocktail mixer'. Something so lame was only something two best friends could laugh about.

Being around Julia the past few days was nice. It brought the brunette's spirits up. Brianne had destroyed her, but Dawn needed to get over it. Right? And being with Julia made her feel less emotional and crazy and just... better. Julia had that effect on people. Whenever someone was feeling like shit, all she had to do was appear, and then everything was okay again. It had always been that way between them.

"Super wasted? You're not gonna black out on me, are you?" Julia chortled, half serious. She had spent the last few days, bumming around Dawn's house. She was dying to stay out of her place as much as possible to avoid the war going on between her sister and parents. She spent most of the time making sure Dawn was okay. Dawn did the same for her, because of the whole Pete thing. But, each day was getting easier for both girls.

"Okay, so I also talked to Sylvia and she said that her and Tori managed to get some absinthe from Tori's parent's liquor stash, and dude... We're totally going to trip tonight," Julia smirked. She stuffed the empty chip bags into the trash can and plopped next to Dawn on the couch. Neither of them had started to get ready. Julia knew no one would bother coming before nine, and even if, they didn't care. It was only five.

"Isn't that, like, acid? Or something?" Dawn's voice was sprinkled with concern and Julia reassured her.

"No, no. I actually don't know what it is, but Syl said it's almost like peyote. But in liquid form". Julia pulled her hair from the black scrunchie and laid her head in Dawn's lap. "Rub my head," Julia request. Dawn did so. She gave Julia the remote to flick through TV channels, finally landing on Full House reruns. Julia closed her eyes as Dawn took her small fingers through the blonde's locks.

Julia's hair was so soft. Dawn had always been jealous of how long, wavy and blonde it was in comparison to her short brown hair. She liked playing with Julia's hair. Moments like these reminded the brunette that she still had a best friend.

The blonde's eyes were starting to get a little heavy. They always did. Sometimes, Julia had the brunette do this before bed to help her sleep when she spent the night and she'd usually return the favor.

And a few seconds later, Julia felt goosebumps run along her body as Dawn moved her hand to the blonde's back. It felt good and Dawn wasn't even trying, just absentmindedly tickling, eyes focused on the Tanner family. Julia wasn't sure what it was, but this felt just... good. Different than usual. She tried to describe the feeling to herself but wasn't sure what it was.

Dawn's hand brushed just above the blonde's waistline and in that split second, Julia felt almost...turned on.

_Oh, god. I need to sit up. Sit up. But this feels too nice... too good. No, you idiot, you're not turned on. And if you are, it's Uncle Jesse on TV. He's a hunk. It has nothing to do with Dawn rubbing your back... Oh, duh! You're drunk. You're turned on by anything and everyone when you're drunk. Ha, of course._ Julia smiled to herself. No harm in letting Dawn keep going until the episode was over. Right?

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><p><strong>AN: Kids, anyone want to take a guess what might happen next? :) Thanks for reading and for reviews. Remember, reviews is what makes a writer's world go 'round! Xoxo-truly**


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